What if Donald drops to #16....

[Hardline]

From reading the Giants message boards for a few days, He is a strong possibility to be selected by them so say their fans.

 

[arglebargle]

I doubt there would be a Steven Jackson type of eruption, but I could be wrong.

But If Dallas does not get a starting 3-T before the draft, yes, I think there will be people cutting themselves.

If only Parcells had been around to stop those crazy decisions!

 

[ConstantReboot]

I would be relieved. I want no part of a one dimensional player who only fits a scheme I want to get out of ASAP.

ummm a dominant passrush wins championships. Did you not forget how the Giants and the Seahawks won? You do recall what Charles Haley has done for this team during the 90s right? Yet they said he was nothing more than a passrusher who couldn't play the run.

 

[AsthmaField]

Just to have fun with the size thing. Melton weighed only 269 at his own combine just a few years ago when he also ran a 4.6+ forty. Donald is definitely his mirror image, only larger.

Well, maybe his mirror image physically... except that Donald is pretty significantly bigger and stronger than Melton was as a rookie. However, Melton wasn't even a DT at Texas and so had to learn the position. Donald, on the other hand, is as accomplished a DT as you will ever find coming from the college ranks. He had phenomenal production his entire career at Pittsburgh, and he has won just about every award a DT can win. In all my years of watching football, I have never seen a DT with more impressive film coming into the NFL. Donald has shown over and over what Chicago had to hope Melton could learn.

Opposing teams in college probably didn't even know about Melton. When teams played Pittsburgh, their entire offensive gameplan was built around trying to neutralize Donald... and he still put up phenomenal numbers... a testament to how dominant he really was.

If you want flexibility, why not trade down a bit and take Kony Ealy who lined up at DE and inside at DT in passing situations. The point is there are lots of options to find guys with quick first steps who might be undersized but can penetrate, and they aren't all named Donald, nor are they found only in round 1.

Ealy isn't close to what Donald is physically. Their first step (very important in this defense) isn't in the same galaxy, and you could say the same about their quickness. Also, if you compare what they did in college... well, there isn't any comparison.

I'm not an NFL scout, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that know a lot more about this than I do, but if you are talking about their value to the Cowboys, I don't think that Ealy is even close to Donald... and I think the Cowboys will feel the same way, although I don't know it for a fact.

 

[ConstantReboot]

I don't think Donald has to "drop" to 16. The only team above us who could take him IMO is the Bears at 14.

Giants might take him. They know the value of a good passrusher when they see one.

 

[kramskoi]

and the Cowboys pass on him?

Fans often get a little carried away with draft media and the combine, even after making fun of the underware Olympics. The fact of the matter is that Aaron Donald is 6'1" and tops out at 285. Maybe he will be the next great 3-tech DT that no one can block; maybe he'll be engulfed by NFL interior linemen that go 320-330.

Maybe the Cowboys prefer Jernigan; maybe the Cowboys prefer trading down and picking up a DT and a DE. Maybe the Cowboys draft OL or safety, or LB or even WR.

It's been proven year after year for decades; you don't have to sign the biggest names in free agency, nor do you have to draft the top ranked players in April to find impact players or even pro-bowlers. Everyone wants Donald; everyone assumes Chicago will take him ahead of us. Reminds me of the great RB draft under Parcells; Steven Jackson dropped down down down for us, and we dropped down, uninterested at all.

You just never know what your front office, coaches and scouts are thinking in the war room, but it's safe to bet it's usually quite different from what the media and draft publications led us to think.

And therein lies the rub. The Cowboys simply don't know, and they would be restricting themselves going to the draft targeting a single player who may or may not be there at 16. Giants or Bears could take him. Donald is THE man for Marinelli's scheme. The lad has all the intangibles to be great. He's the quickest and the strongest for his size. He comes off the line like shot from cannon by most reports. Quick twitch...quick twitch.

 

[AsthmaField]

Giants might take him. They know the value of a good passrusher when they see one.

True, that's why I'd look into trading with Tenn at #11. A move up to that spot would pretty much guarantee Donald is ours.

 

[kramskoi]

Well, maybe his mirror image physically... except that Donald is pretty significantly bigger and stronger than Melton was as a rookie. However, Melton wasn't even a DT at Texas and so had to learn the position. Donald, on the other hand, is as accomplished a DT as you will ever find coming from the college ranks. He had phenomenal production his entire career at Pittsburgh, and he has won just about every award a DT can win. In all my years of watching football, I have never seen a DT with more impressive film coming into the NFL. Donald has shown over and over what Chicago had to hope Melton could learn.

Opposing teams in college probably didn't even know about Melton. When teams played Pittsburgh, their entire offensive gameplan was built around trying to neutralize Donald... and he still put up phenomenal numbers... a testament to how dominant he really was.



Ealy isn't close to what Donald is physically. Their first step (very important in this defense) isn't in the same galaxy, and you could say the same about their quickness. Also, if you compare what they did in college... well, there isn't any comparison.

I'm not an NFL scout, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that know a lot more about this than I do, but if you are talking about their value to the Cowboys, I don't think that Ealy is even close to Donald... and I think the Cowboys will feel the same way, although I don't know it for a fact.

Freaky thing about Melton is that he went from running back at Texas to Pro-Bowl DT in just 5 years. Pretty impressive I would say. I think they moved Donald around a little at Pittsburgh, but his sheer number of plays in the backfield [89] over 3 years is pretty impressive as well.

 

[SportsGuru80]

That would be a very interesting scenario, if someone rated higher than him falls to us then I could see that happening.

 

[AsthmaField]

Fans often get a little carried away with draft media and the combine, even after making fun of the underware Olympics.

Yes, Donald put up phenomenal numbers at the combine. However, if there was anyone who ever proved on the football field that he was not just a workout wonder, it was Donald. He showed over multiple years, in multiple schemes that he is a football player first and a workout wonder second. I loved the guy and thought he was the perfect 3-tech for Dallas before he ever took a practice snap at the Senior Bowl or stepped on a scale at the Combine.

He is a great football player who happened to blow the combine up. His rare quickness and speed is just an indicator that his college tape isn't a fluke. It is because he is physically rare in a lot of ways and because he understands and loves football.

Maybe the Cowboys prefer Jernigan; maybe the Cowboys prefer trading down and picking up a DT and a DE. Maybe the Cowboys draft OL or safety, or LB or even WR.

We may never know, but I'd bet the house that Dallas likes Donald better than Jernigan.

It's been proven year after year for decades; you don't have to sign the biggest names in free agency, nor do you have to draft the top ranked players in April to find impact players or even pro-bowlers.

No, but it really helps. That's why early first round picks are worth so much. When you get a guy who is physically superior and who has great football smarts and instincts like Donald, odds are he's going to be good. Particularly when what he does so well is what is required from a position, like Donald in Marinelli's scheme.

Everyone wants Donald; everyone assumes Chicago will take him ahead of us. Reminds me of the great RB draft under Parcells; Steven Jackson dropped down down down for us, and we dropped down, uninterested at all.

You just never know what your front office, coaches and scouts are thinking in the war room, but it's safe to bet it's usually quite different from what the media and draft publications led us to think.

Well, you're right in that we really don't know, but unlike that year with Steven Jackson, I'm pretty sure Donald is exactly what Dallas is looking for in a 3-tech DT. With Jackson, I knew he was a good runner and that Dallas had a need at RB, but I wasn't sure if they wanted a smaller, quicker back, or a larger, more powerful back, or what. Now, I promise you that Marinelli is wanting a smaller, quicker DT who can penetrate, who plays with explosion and leverage, and who has an unreal first step.

Frankly, if you look at Donald and what he does on the football field, I can't imagine Dallas not having him as their number 1 DT by a mile. If you look at his personality, his work ethic, his football IQ, and his demeanor... I can't imagine Dallas not having him as their number 1 DT by a mile.

I was nowhere that certain about Steven Jackson or the RB position in general that year.

 

[AsthmaField]

Freaky thing about Melton is that he went from running back at Texas to Pro-Bowl DT in just 5 years. Pretty impressive I would say. I think they moved Donald around a little at Pittsburgh, but his sheer number of plays in the backfield [89] over 3 years is pretty impressive as well.

Yeah, Melton is a good player. However, if you look at Donald and Melton coming out of college... there is no comparison.

 

[texbumthelife]

Given the way the off season had gone and how free agency has played out thus far, I can't foresee any scenario where we pass on Donald unless someone like Barr also falls and/or someone offer us the farm for the pick.

 

[AsthmaField]

Given the way the off season had gone and how free agency has played out thus far, I can't foresee any scenario where we pass on Donald unless someone like Barr also falls and/or someone offer us the farm for the pick.

Me either.

I would take Donald over Barr, but I would take Mack over Donald. Unfortunately, Mack will be long gone by the time we pick.

To me, Donald is the best option of all the guys who might realistically be there for us.

 

[texbumthelife]

Me either.

I would take Donald over Barr, but I would take Mack over Donald. Unfortunately, Mack will be long gone by the time we pick.

To me, Donald is the best option of all the guys who might realistically be there for us.

I don't know if I could take Donald over Barr. I think Donald is a safer pick, but Barr has elite edge rusher potential... That would be a tough one for me.

 

[AsthmaField]

I don't know if I could take Donald over Barr. I think Donald is a safer pick, but Barr has elite edge rusher potential... That would be a tough one for me.

Yeah, I understand. There was a thread asking specifically that a week or so ago. Most said they'd take Barr. I was one of the outcasts who said they take Donald, lol.

 

[kramskoi]

Yeah, Melton is a good player. However, if you look at Donald and Melton coming out of college... there is no comparison.

Hear you my friend. Just finished looking at some highlight film. He sheds and swims sweetly. Somewhat of a mean streak. I think he had a drop in production when they had him at 3-4 but he still produced ...also at 1T as well. Amazing athlete, VERY strong...Scary quick. You can drop him in and go.

 

[AsthmaField]

Hear you my friend. Just finished looking at some highlight film. He sheds and swims sweetly. Somewhat of a mean streak. I think he had a drop in production when they had him at 3-4 but he still produced ...also at 1T as well. Amazing athlete, VERY strong...Scary quick. You can drop him in and go.

Yeah, I think Donald would be a producer from the first snap of the first game. Give him a training camp with Marinelli showing him what he wants (which would be pretty much what he did his final year at Pitt), and he should be good to go.

His first step is phenomenal and will give guards fits. Nobody hardly talks about his strength, but he is really strong too. With his shorter height, his quickness and his strength, he is a nightmare for OL.

 

[kevinhickey]

Dallas should do their homework and draft defensive front seven or offensive line in the first three rounds. I'm willing to tolerate some usual Jones wheeling-and-dealing as long as he nets quality and very probable opening game talent while doing so. However, if we choose players for the positions listed in red above, I may head to a book depository and wait for Jones to drive by Dealey Plaza.

Where we're you the last several years. Now, your thinking about taking Jerry out!

 

[DFWJC]

I don't think Donald has to "drop" to 16. The only team above us who could take him IMO is the Bears at 14.

This

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

I like Donald and Jennigan @ 16...with or without Melton and/or Allen!